On 19/9, President Donald Trump announced a plan to impose a $100,000 fee on H1B visa applications, effective from 00:01 on 21/9. The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa commonly used by US technology companies to recruit highly skilled foreign workers.

When asked whether the policy would apply to existing H1B visa holders, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick implied it would. "Renewal or initial application: companies need to decide if that worker is worth paying the US government $100,000 a year for. If not, they should go home, and companies should hire Americans," Lutnick said.

Lutnick's message prompted many US technology and banking companies to send urgent notifications to their foreign employees with H1B visas. These individuals raced against time to return to the US before the Trump administration's deadline to avoid the hefty fee.

US President Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at the White House on 19/9. Photo: AP

US President Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at the White House on 19/9. Photo: AP

Many Indian workers cut short their visits with family abroad to return to the US before the deadline. "We had to choose between family and staying here," said an engineer at a major tech company at San Francisco International Airport, California, on 19/9.

According to the engineer, an Emirates flight from San Francisco to Dubai that afternoon was delayed for over three hours because several Indian passengers demanded to disembark. The crew allowed at least 5 people to leave.

On China's Rednote social media platform, several accounts shared their journeys racing back to the US before 21/9. Some had only been in China or other countries for a few hours before rushing to buy return tickets to the US.

"My feelings are a mix of disappointment, sadness, and frustration," one account wrote. She had just boarded a United Airlines flight from New York to Paris, France, when she received an email from the company's lawyer urging employees to return to the US. After speaking with the airline, the captain agreed to return to the gate so she could disembark.

For foreign tech workers in India, the first emails and messages arrived in the middle of the night on 19/9, stating they needed to be back in the US before President Trump's order took effect. Air India flight 179, departing Mumbai at 13:25 and arriving in San Francisco at 20:25 on 20/9, was one of the few viable options.

The passenger in seat 22D said she received a notification from a friend at 6:30. She works in the Bay Area, San Francisco, and has lived in the US since 2021 on an H1B visa. She had returned to Pune, about a three-hour drive from Mumbai, a few days earlier for a funeral and planned to stay in India for two weeks.

90 minutes after her friend's call, she grabbed her passport and some clothes and took a taxi to Mumbai. She called her sister in Mumbai and asked her to print necessary documents, such as her employment confirmation letter and payslips, and then arranged to meet her at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.

However, Air India flight 179 was still a gamble. Many passengers had checked the flight's history and noticed it usually landed in San Francisco after 21:00, leaving little time to disembark and clear US immigration before 00:01 on 21/9. Passengers also couldn't update themselves on US immigration policies during the flight due to a lack of internet access.

Despite this, the flight quickly sold out, with most passengers holding H1B visas. Two hours after departure, the plane stopped in Kolkata to refuel for the transpacific journey. During this time, over 125 H1B visa holders on the flight created a WhatsApp group chat to share information.

The passenger in seat 12B and another individual contacted the captain to explain their situation and ask if anything could be done to expedite the journey. The captain said he couldn't control air traffic but thought he could shorten the flight time by 10-15 minutes and would provide further updates closer to San Francisco.

Passengers waiting to board Air India flight 179 in Mumbai, India. Photo: WSJ

Passengers waiting to board Air India flight 179 in Mumbai, India. Photo: WSJ

At 18:10, Air India flight 179 took off from Kolkata. Around this time, US media reported that the $100,000 fee did not apply to current H1B holders.

"Those already possessing H-1B visas who are outside of the US will not be charged the $100,000 fee upon their return," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X. The White House also confirmed it was a one-time fee, not an annual one.

However, the passengers on Air India flight 179 were unaware of this and remained preoccupied with racing against time throughout the flight. About an hour before landing, some H1B visa holders even requested seat changes to disembark more quickly. The captain asked passengers without urgent needs to remain seated so that H1B visa holders could rush to immigration.

The plane landed in San Francisco at 19:59. An Air India spokesperson said the flight operated on schedule, with "no emergency landing or any special assistance provided."

By now, many passengers received messages from family members informing them they were not affected by the $100,000 fee. The passenger in seat 22D cried while waiting to disembark.

At 20:15, the first passenger in the WhatsApp group chat announced they had successfully entered the US. "Everything went smoothly," they told the group. "No one asked any questions."

Nhu Tam (According to WSJ, Reuters, AFP)